Ferreira Gullar e a poesia do cárcere

Abstract

Between December 1968 and January 1969, Ferreira Gullar was imprisoned for 20 days in the Vila Militar, in Rio de Janeiro, due to his opposition to the military dictatorship. Although the author never remained silent about this period in prison, mentions of the event, whether in his poetic work or in testimonies and interviews, are far less abundant and detailed than the mentions he left about his years in exile. Based on these gaps, the aim of this article is to reflect about the relationship between poetry and imprisonment in Gullar's work, especially through a reading of the poem "O prisioneiro" (The Prisoner), present in Dentro da noite veloz (1975). In this way, I situate the author's place in the repertoire of poetry of political prisoners of the military dictatorship (Ribeiro, 2020; Martinelli Filho, 2023; 2024), emphasizing the testimonial dimension of the poem.